Windows 11: here’s how it will evolve in 2023

What major updates will the Windows 11 operating system receive over the next year? Try to answer the question Zac Bowden, always well informed about the events of the Redmond house. The indications given below are based on the data acquired through Bowden’s sources – who had already intervened on the subject a couple of weeks ago – and outline an evolutionary picture of the Microsoft operating system which unfolds in three main eventscorresponding to the release of as many updates or rather three “Moments”to use the expression recently used by Microsoft to identify the most substantial updates of its operating system.

In a nutshell:

• Windows 11 22H2 Moment 2 in February/March
• Windows 11 22H2 Moment 3 in May/June
• Windows 11 23H2 Moment 4 in September/October

It is understood that these are the main functional updates and that the usual patches released on a monthly basis will continue.

The first appointment is therefore set between February and March 2023 with Windows 11 22H2 Moment 2 which will introduce new features into the operating system and bring about further UI changes. Major changes currently planned include:

• taskbar in tablet mode: Introduces the minimized taskbar used for the first time in Windows 10X. Specifically, when the operating system detects only the touchscreen as an input tool and no keyboard or mouse, the system tray will be minimized offering the user additional space to manage apps on the desktop
• system tray updates
• new options in the search bar
• tips to optimize energy consumption (in settings)
• search function in task manager
• full screen widget panel
• Studio Effects in the quick settings
• Voice Access feature improvements

The next Windows 11 22H2 Moment 3 update will arrive the following spring: the details in this regard are still scarce, but one of the main innovations could coincide with the optimizations introduced to make the most of foldable PCsboth single-screen and dual-screen. It is also speculated that more UI changes and updates to pre-installed apps will be introduced. The last aspect will concern the necessary changes to make all the sections of the UI more and more consistent with each other, therefore changes that will affect further legacy interfaces still present in Windows 11 (eg that of the Autoplay USB, the Windows Firewall popos, etc.).

The Moment 4 update will arrive this fallbut there are still doubts about the substance of the same: it is not yet known exactly if it will coincide with the 23H2 version of Windows 11 or if it will be a separate update arriving shortly after the release of 23H2, as happened with the Moment 1 update made available one month after the release of Windows 22H2.